中國的足球“金牌”！？

Football， or soccer as it is called in America， is the most popular sport in the world. Millions of people play or watch the sport every week and with the Beijing Olympics coming up， we have another feast of international football to look forward to. The China Olympic team， also known as the China national under-23 team， and the China women's team will both be aiming to show off their skills to the rest of the world. Success in Beijing would not only prove that China can compete in football at an international level， but also reward the passion of millions of Chinese fans.

足球是世界上最風靡的運動，美國人將其稱為英式足球。數百萬人每周都看球賽或者去踢球。隨著北京奧運會的臨近，我們又將迎來一場世界足球盛宴。中國奧運足球隊，即23歲以下足球青年隊，和中國女足都期待向全世界展現他們的球技。北京奧運會不僅將見證中國足球隊在世界賽場上的奮勇拼搏，更將贏得數百萬中國球迷的熱情支持。

In England， football is often known simply as \"the beautiful game\". The modern version involves two teams of eleven players who kick， head， or chest a ball around a pitch aiming to score more goals than their opponents. The players pass， shoot， tackle， dribble， complain and sometimes even dive their way to victory. Despite some shortcomings， in many people's opinion there are few sports which are more entertaining.

足球在英國被稱為“美麗游戲”。現代足球比賽中參賽的兩支球隊，每隊在場上各有十一名球員，球員被允許用腳、頭和胸等部位觸球，進球多的一方勝利。球員們通過傳球、射門、搶斷、盤帶、向裁判抱怨甚至不惜一切來爭取贏球。雖然足球仍存在一些不足，但在很多人看來，沒有什么其它運動項目比足球更有趣了。

The World Cup remains the premier football tournament， yet the Olympics offer something different. In the men's competition it is a showcase for future talent， as the majority of players are required to be under 23 years of age. Superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo， Alberto Gilardino and Carlos Tevez all lit up the Athens tournament in 2004， and Chinese players will no doubt hope to impress foreign scouts and coaches when they play in Beijing. The women's tournament has no such age restrictions， but it remains one of the few chances for the women's game， still growing as a sport， to receive genuine worldwide attention.

世界杯是最高等級的足球比賽。奧運會則與之不同。參加奧運會男足比賽的主要是23歲以下的青年隊員，奧運會正為未來的新星們提供了展示的舞臺。像克里斯蒂亞諾#8226;羅納爾多、阿爾伯托#8226;吉拉迪諾和卡洛斯#8226;特維茲等巨星就是從2004年雅典奧運會上開始嶄露頭角的。中國國奧隊的球員們也希望通過在場上的表現給外國的球探和教練們留下印象，繼而獲得留洋的機會。女足比賽沒有年齡限制，奧運會的比賽也為女足運動的發展提供了機會，使之真正為世界矚目。

The coming Olympics are particularly special for football fans this time because， in holding the Games in China， the sport may also be returning to the place where it all began. Few people know about early versions of the game， which are very far from the beautiful game played today. One reference describes Roman soldiers kicking the heads of their enemies around as a ball. In England， where many people believe football was invented， there are records of a pig's bladder being used as a football and matches being played in the streets of the town. Some sources even suggest that the game may have come from China， where bamboo sticks were used for goalposts as early as 3000 BC. A military training book， dated at around 400 BC， describes something known as \"tsu chu\". Translated into English， \"tsu\" means to \"kick with the foot\" and \"chu\" means \"a ball made of leather and stuffed\". It seems that the Chinese had realized early on that a leather ball was far more practical for sport than the heads of enemy soldiers.

即將到來的這次奧運會對于中國球迷來說是一個有特別意義的時刻。奧運會在中國舉辦，也讓足球回到了它最初誕生的國度。……